On July 27, 2022

Castleton Center for Schools hosts sixth annual Early Childhood Educators Institute

Tuesday, July 26—CASTLETON — Castleton University will host the sixth annual Early Childhood Educators Institute on July 26, 28, and August 2. The event will be held synchronously online with an optional on-campus session and celebration on August 4. The program’s live, interactive Zoom meetings allow early educators to participate from a location convenient to them.

The Early Childhood Educators Institute is for anyone providing support, services, and education in the Vermont early childhood field. This includes early childhood educators (birth through grade three) working in public schools, private early childhood and after-school settings; Early Head Start and Head Start professionals; early childhood special educators, developmental educators, specialized child care providers, home visitors, related service providers including speech language pathologists; and the administrators who supervise and support them.

“We are proud to offer affordable, accessible professional development to all those who work so diligently to assure that our youngest, and sometimes more vulnerable, citizens are safe and healthy,” said Ric Reardon, institute planning committee chair and director of the Castleton Center for Schools. “Each year we offer a variety of sessions ranging from trauma-informed practices to outdoor education with the hopes that our participants take what they have learned and apply it to their own working environments. We have been delighted to see how often that has happened in past years and are excited about the possibilities for future success for those attending the 2022 institute.”

The Early Childhood Educators Institute promotes Vermont’s core early education values and emphasizes strands that deepen practice, meet childcare professional development requirements, and assist teachers in obtaining related licenses and endorsements.

“We are proud to be offering 13 credited courses aligned with the institute strands this year. We have many courses that are back by popular demand and a handful of others that are new this year. These three-credit courses are designed specifically for the early childhood education audience and can be taken for graduate or undergraduate credit,” said Tara Lidstone, planning committee member and assistant director of the Castleton Center for Schools.

A preeminent feature of this institute is the cooperative spirit of Vermont’s colleges and universities, parent and child centers, childcare institutions, and state agencies, many of whom are taking responsibility for offering a course.

For more information, visit castleton.edu/early-childhood-institute.

Do you want to submit feedback to the editor?

Send Us An Email!

Related Posts

Pride in Rutland: Flags, resistance, and showing up

June 25, 2025
By Emily Pratt Slatin Pride returned to downtown Rutland this June with more color, noise, and purpose than ever before. What began as a joyful celebration quickly became something deeper—something that felt like resistance. And belonging. And a promise that no one in this community has to stand alone. The day kicked off with the…

Plan to manage 72,000 acres of the Telephone Gap project is finalized

June 25, 2025
Staff report The U.S. Forest Service issued its final plan for managing 72,000 acres of public and private land on June 16. The proposed Telephone Gap Integrated Resource Project area is located on the Green Mountain National Forest (GMNF) within the towns of Brandon, Chittenden, Goshen, Killington, Mendon, Pittsfield, Pittsford, and Stockbridge. “The Telephone Gap project is…

Hot air balloons took flight over Quechee

June 25, 2025
By James Kent This past weekend, June 21-22, people came from all over New England to participate in the 45th annual Hot Air Balloon Festival. Music, food, games, and fun were available for all ages throughout the weekend, but the main attraction was the hot air balloons. And for those looking to see these gigantic,…

Killington residents push for skate park as town reimagines recreation future 

June 25, 2025
By Greta Solsaa/VTDigger As Killington celebrates the 50th anniversary of its recreation center, some residents are pushing to make a skate park a new permanent fixture of the town’s summer offerings.  The town crafted its recreation master plan to holistically determine how to best use its resources to serve residents in the future, Recreation Department Director Emily Hudson…